(NewsNation) — Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz called for an end to the war in Gaza in his final push to appeal to Muslim voters before the November election.

Walz, currently the governor of Minnesota, was the headline speaker at the “Million Muslim Votes 2024 Summit: Finding the Way Forward” on Thursday. Emgage Action, a Muslim-American advocacy group, hosted the webinar.

In a three-minute speech, Walz expressed his support for the Muslim and Arab communities amid the Middle East warfare, calling the destruction in Gaza “staggering and devastating.”

“This war must end and it must end now,” Walz said. “The Vice President is working every day to make sure of that.”

U.S. support of Israel’s war in Gaza could prove to be a significant driver of how swing state voters show up at the polls this November.

Frustrated by President Joe Biden’s support of Israel, some voters opposing his policy pushed back against the president when he was running as the Democratic nominee.

However, with Vice President Kamala Harris taking over the Democratic Party, some political experts say she could have an opportunity to smooth over those voters.

Voters who disapprove of the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict in Gaza may be the much-needed margin Harris and Walz need. Walz said the deaths and destruction are on his and Harris’ minds daily.

“Our hearts are broken,” Walz said.

The organization’s CEO, Wa’el Alzayat, called Walz “a champion of American working families.”

“We know he’ll do all he can to make sure the next administration serves all of us,” Alzayat said.

Emgage Action posted to X, formerly Twitter, promoting the summit — the organization’s first post on the platform since February 2020 when they endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president.

Walz touted his running mate’s efforts in uplifting the Muslim American community, pointing to  Harris’ meeting with the mother of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy who was stabbed to death last October.

“We unequivocally condemn hate and Islamophobia and stand with the Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim American communities. The Biden-Harris Administration will continue working to protect our communities against hate and senseless violence,” Harris wrote in an Oct. 16, 2023, news release from the White House.

Walz has also recognized Muslim holidays throughout his tenure as Minnesota’s governor, hosting Iftar with his wife Gwen at the governor’s residence in 2019. Iftar is the meal eaten after sunset during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. In his appearance at Emgage Action’s summit, Walz said he was proud to have hosted the first-ever Iftar at the governor’s residence.

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for this year’s presidential election, did not escape a mention by Walz, who called his past rhetoric “anti-Muslim bigotry.”

“It means the world to us for your endorsement because we stand side-by-side on those principles. As the Vice President says, ‘When we fight we win,’ and we’re glad to be in this fight alongside Emgage,” Walz said in his closing statement.

Walz’s remarks from his home in Minnesota, wherein he took no questions, came nearly one year after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Other elected officials, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17), participated in the summit.

NewsNation’s Safia Samee Ali contributed to this report.